Don't Ask Me [10/08/77] (Don't Ask Me)
Do stones grow? The answer is stranger than you think.
How did we find the answers to all of our silly questions before the internet? We asked them on television, of course. That's the premise of this programme from 1977. In Don't Ask Me members of the studio audience pose science-based questions to a team of experts to answer, often resulting in lively and definitely dangerous demonstrations. Among them: 'why does a car backfire?' and 'why do bananas slices float when I make jelly?' The standout expert is scientist Magnus Pyke - the eccentric science teacher we all wished we'd had at school. He bubbles over with an enthusiasm which is clearly contagious as members of the audience happily volunteer to be electrocuted or give themselves muscle cramp in the name of science. This element of danger and chaos threads itself throughout the duration of the show as we wait to find out what happens next. Explosions, jelly, electrocution and a bit of rhinoceros riding all feature.
Made by Yorkshire Television, this popular programme ran from 1974 to 1978. Don't Ask Me follows in the footsteps of other educational entertainment science-based ITV programmes such as the HOW series (HOW, 1966-1981; HOW 2, 1990-2006 and How, 2020). Don't Ask Me later became Don't Just Sit There in 1979.
Series of panel games about scientific and medical topics.
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How We Learned
From classroom to lecture hall to living room: a look at the many ways TV and video shaped our learning experiences over the years.
For most of us, the screen has been as much a part of our education as the blackboard or whiteboard. Early 20th century educators quickly saw that moving images could be a valuable teaching aid, and by the 1920s and 30s a thriving industry was delivering thousands of films for classroom use. By the 1960s, the small screen had largely taken over, and schoolkids would thrill at the sight of the teacher wheeling out a television set.
In the meantime, education was transforming, too, with grammar schools, secondary moderns and technical schools giving way to comprehensives, which in turn made room for academies and faith schools. Higher education swelled with new universities and polytechnics, while the Open University, launched in 1969, used video and television to reach students in their homes. Through television, informal learning has also helped those who missed out on traditional schooling, or who just want to expand their minds. Whether we spoke our first words along with onscreen puppets, studied along with Open University broadcasts or followed educational debates in current affairs programmes, television and video have always had a lot to teach us.
22 videos in this collection
1
2
Make It Count [22/01/78]
3
Elton Well Dressing
4
Bill Has Trouble with the Magic Box
5
Don't Ask Me [10/08/77]
6
School
7
School Leaver
8
Chalkface [04/07/82]
9
Adult Basic Skills: Entrance
10
Think Tank [18/08/81]
11
A New Choice of School
12
Children Talking 1 Assessing Spoken Language at Eleven
13
Teaching Science: Object Lessons
14
Able Children
15
Brighton Polytechnic Promo 2
16
Painting by Numbers
17
Multi-cultural Education
18
One Week in July
19
Introduction to Computers
20
Christmas Special
21
Dulwich College and Village
22